Captain’s Corner: Mohammad Azharuddin vs Mark Taylor
It is true that Cricket is a team game. But, it is also a game that involves a lot of planning and requires tactically strong minds on the field. Very often, the game of Cricket can land you in pressure situations. And that is when you need a leader with a clam head to soak in the pressure and lead the way by making right decisions. The importance of a quality leader can’t be stressed enough.
Here is a look into the performances by two of the most famous captains. One a flamboyant, aggressive Indian skipper and the other, an adventurous yet highly effective Australian leader.
Both Mohammad Azharuddin and Mark Taylor were handed the responsibilities of leading their respective nations in a tricky period. While Taylor succeeded the great Alan Border, the fairly experienced Azharuddin was to lead a side that consisted of a few top players in Indian cricket. It was tricky because when their respective sides were in a rebuilding phase. How they handled the extra-responsibility would determine the future, but both of them did great job.
However, there was distinctive difference in their batting. Azharuddin was a stylish batsman with sinewy wrists who could leave you awe-struck with his innate stroke-making ability, particularly towards the leg-side. But his technique was suspect to short-pitch bowling which he tried to overcome through instinctive shots.
Mark Taylor, on the other hand, was a classical batsman with a grind-your-way-through approach. The left-handed opener was considered as one of the instrumental characters in the Australian Test side but was deemed less than ideal for ODIs because of his poor strike-rate.
Taylor’s tenure as the captain marked the beginning of Australian dominance. Under him, Australia built a very strong side and also saw the emergence of the to-be legends such as Ricky Ponting, Glen McGrath and Shane Warne.
The records speak for themselves and it is always a hard task to make a distinction between two captains who scripted an era of their own with their leadership.
Let us look at the statistically comparison of the two captains
#1 Overall record
That Mark Taylor had plenty of experienced, quality players in the side during his captaincy which helped him win more games both in and outside Australia. But, he indeed was exceptional at managing the resources and bringing the best out of the players. His overall numbers reiterate his success as the captain.
| Span | Mat | Won | Lost | Draw | Win% | |
| Mohammad Azharuddin | 1990-99 | 47 | 14 | 14 | 19 | 29.79 |
| Mark Taylor | 1994-99 | 50 | 26 | 13 | 11 | 52 |
| Span | Mat | Won | Lost | Tied | NR | Win% | |
| Mohammad Azharuddin | 1990-99 | 174 | 90 | 76 | 2 | 6 | 51.72 |
| Mark Taylor | 1994-99 | 67 | 36 | 30 | 1 | 0 | 53.73 |
#2 Home record
Quite obviously, both India and Australia were tough to beat in their home conditions. Under Azharuddin, India had a quality bowling attack that wiped out the opposition at home. While spin was always their main strength at home, the emergence of the Karnataka pacers Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad added more bite to the strong bowling unit.
| Mat | Won | Lost | Drawn | Win% | |
| Mohammad Azharuddin | 20 | 13 | 4 | 3 | 65 |
| Mark Taylor | 27 | 17 | 5 | 5 | 62.9 |
In ODIs though, the Indian skipper clearly has the better numbers as team India really developed to be one of the strongest ODI teams in world cricket then.
| Mat | Won | Lost | Tied | NR | Win% | |
| Mohammad Azharuddin | 58 | 40 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 68.97 |
| Mark Taylor | 27 | 16 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 59.26 |
#3 Away record
Like many other Indian skippers, Azharuddin too has a poor record outside India. It can be attributed to batsmen’s failure to score big runs in seaming or swing-assisting conditions. Mark Taylor’s side, however, won more than they lost away from home.
| Mat | Won | Lost | Drawn | Win% | |
| Mohammad Azharuddin | 27 | 1 | 10 | 16 | 3.70 |
| Mark Taylor | 23 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 39.13 |
However, in the shorter format of the game Azharuddin-led India did relatively well even outside India.
| Mat | Won | Lost | Tied | NR | Win% | |
| Mohammad Azharuddin | 116 | 50 | 59 | 1 | 6 | 43.10 |
| Mark Taylor | 40 | 20 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 50 |
#4 ICC events
In what is an impressive stat, Azharuddin is the only Indian to have captained the team in three World Cups. And considering the number of games and the pressure of the World Cup, his record too is commendable. It is clear indication of how well he marshalled his troops in pressure situations.
But, it was unfortunate that India’s infamous loss in the semi-final of the 1996 World Cup was under Azharuddin’s captaincy. Mark Taylor didn’t captain his side in too many games but the side lost just twice under his stewardship.
| Mat | Won | Lost | Tied | NR | Win% | |
| Mohammad Azharuddin | 23 | 10 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 68.97 |
| Mark Taylor | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 71.43 |
One of the two loses came in a World Cup final. He was the skipper of the Australian side that lost to a resurgent Pakistan outfit in the final of the 1992 World Cup.
#5 Personal performance as captain
Some players feel burdened by the additional responsibilities of leading the side, but to some it doesn’t make a difference.
Azharuddin didn’t let captaincy affect his contribution. He remained a vital cog in the Indian side for the major part of his career.
His numbers are much better than Taylor’s in both the formats. It was particularly impressive how the former Indian skipper stacked up runs in hostile foreign conditions.
| Mat | Inngs | Runs | HS | Avg | 100s | 50s | |
| Mohammad Azharuddin | 47 | 68 | 2896 | 192 | 43.93 | 9 | 6 |
| Mark Taylor | 50 | 89 | 3250 | 334 | 39.63 | 7 | 16 |
| Inngs | Not Out | Runs | HS | Avg | 100s | 50s | |
| Mohammad Azharuddin | 162 | 29 | 5239 | 153 | 39.39 | 4 | 37 |
| Mark Taylor | 67 | 1 | 2098 | 105 | 32.78 | 1 | 15 |
#6 Luck at the toss
While there’s no controlling it, the Toss can be a crucial factor in the game of cricket. So much so that it can practically have a say in the result of the game.
Clearly, Azharuddin is the luckier of the two captains.
| Mat | Toss won | Win% | |
| Mohammad Azharuddin | 47 | 29 | 61.70 |
| Mark Taylor | 50 | 26 | 52 |
| Mat | Toss won | Win% | |
| Mohammad Azharuddin | 174 | 96 | 55.17 |
| Mark Taylor | 67 | 34 | 50.75 |